The Myth and The Guardian

Chapter 6

Austin had tried to make friends with the children of the neighborhood, but he could not seem to find a common interest with any of them. The boys his age were playing sports and just starting to think girls were pretty. The girls wanted to wear make-up and look cute like their mothers. Austin did not see the allure of playing any sport at all, and he certainly did not care for make-up and Barbie dolls. He was more interested in figuring out the puzzle of life. What were the essential ingredients of an individual becoming happy? Did the minds before him notice anything about life that he had yet to discover? These were the questions on his mind, and none of the other kids could understand his passion for knowledge.

Frank and Susan had decided to host a small party to celebrate Austin becoming a part of the family, and they invited all of their friends who had children Austin’s age. Some of the children were smart and clever, but they did not like to spend all of their time learning. Austin spent the majority of his time talking to Joseph and Amy Wilson, who were basically the equivalent of his older cousins. Amy had decided to go join the group of girls who were huddled in a corner. Two of the other girls were her age and in her class, and Amy was surprisingly popular.

Joseph stayed and talked to Austin, but he was soon talked into throwing a football around with the younger kids. The invitation to play was extended to Austin, but he respectfully declined the offer. He did not want to throw a ball around, and he really did not understand all of the rules of the game. It appeared that the person with the ball was a target for the rest of the players to release their aggression toward. Austin did not have to be a genius to know if the ball would get you knocked down then do not touch the ball. Frank walked over to Austin after a while and asked what he was doing.

“Watching a modern day version of Lord Of The Flies.” Austin replied with a slight giggle.

“Oh, I see. The players are all the barbaric group of boys and the ball is the pig’s head or is it a piece of meat?” Frank said extending the joke.

“Looks like it is a bit of both if you think about it.” Austin replied to show his appreciation of Frank sharing a laugh with him.

“How about you go play too. You may enjoy the game once you try it out.” Frank said in a hopeful tone.

Austin thought long and hard about it, and he wanted to decline once again. He could see that Frank wanted him to make friends, and he slowly decided to say yes.

The yard was large with more than enough room for Austin to safely avoid being tackled. He had decided that the best way to ensure his own safety was to create impossible angles for the defenders to overcome. He had an impressive understanding of angles which he hoped would be the primary factor of him eluding defenders when he had the football. Austin soon figured out a lesson that most football players learned quickly. No matter what strategy a ball carrier uses, he will always be tackled hard by someone on the field.

Joseph Wilson yelled out the number of “huts” as previously discussed in the huddle and handed Austin the football. Austin positioned himself to use his brain as his secret weapon. He figured his logic combined with his small body and speed would help him tremendously. He speeded by the first defender with ease, faked left and ran right which caused the second defender to fall, and the third defender missed Austin due to his own excitement of making a tackle. Austin thought about how much the hit would hurt had it connected, and he quickly returned his focus to the task at hand. He had only a few more guys to beat before he was inside of the touchdown area, and he had already decided to use different variations of the moves that had kept him off the ground to continue to protect himself.

Austin was loving the thrill of it all, and he was happy to see his intelligence gave him an advantage in this barbaric sport. However, he did not think about the last three defenders using logic against his own. They had formed a wall with their bodies a foot apart. Austin did not see how to prevent getting tackled without turning around and running the opposite way. He glanced behind him and noticed the others were up and running toward him at top speed. He had no choice but to run to either the left or right side of the yard or fall down. He decided to make a break for the left side, but before he could turn his head straight ahead again, smack! One of the final three defenders had decided to take advantage of Austin glancing behind himself.

The impact hurt the boy genius, and he wanted to scream in pain. The fall to the ground was not as bad as he thought it would be, and the other body was luckily not as heavy as he had previously assumed. The pain from the impact was more than expected but did not last as long as he had assumed. He stood up and received the cheers of Frank, Joseph, Susan, a few of his peers, a couple of boys playing the game with him, and a few fathers who had been watching. Suddenly, he understood why people chose to continue to play this crazy sport after being hit by another human body at dangerous speeds. Unless the ball carrier is significantly injured, the applause alone could make him forget about the pain of the impact.

Austin played for a while longer and began to enjoy himself. He was having fun, and the other boys were really starting to admire how well he ran with the football in his hands. He played until he needed to use to bathroom, and he looked forward to finishing the game after he relieved himself. He could not imagine the embarrassment of getting tackled to the ground and standing up with urine all over the front of his pants. After he was finished using the bathroom, he returned to find new kids playing football. The bunch from his game were resting and drinking juice and Gatorade. Austin had returned from the bathroom in time to witness a few plays of the next game. There were now three very aggressive and extremely athletic boys playing in the game. After witnessing the damage that they were doing to the other players, Austin had decided that he was too exhausted to play again. Frank walked up and asked him why he had decided to take a break because he did not look too tired.

Austin looked at him and replied:

“Look at me. Now look at those three guys there. Now ask yourself how smart I am.”

Frank obeyed all of the commands as the boy spoke them, and he turned back to Austin and said:

“I guess I see your point.” in a very amused but understanding tone.

The boy genius walked over to the previous group of boys he had played ball with for the last hour and decided to try to make friends. They welcomed him into their small circle and let him in on the topic of discussion. The boys were having a very in depth conversation about how much they hated school, liked girls, and loved toys. Austin just decided to listen and laugh when they laughed to try to protect the rest of the evening. He did not give any input because he loved school, understood why people enjoyed sex even though he was too young to experience it, and did not care too much for toys. One of the boys’ older brother walked over and joined them in order to tease. He pointed at a cute girl his age and asked the group how they would like to have her for Christmas. The boys all laughed and blushed from embarrassment, but Austin did not find the joke to be that clever or humorous. The older boy took notice to Austin’s lack of appreciation for his humor and decided to find out why he did not laugh.

“Hey, what’s the matter? Are you still a little boy who doesn’t like girls?” The older boy asked in a mocking tone.

“Actually we are all just little boys over here in this area, and I probably know more about sexual intercourse than you do.”

This information shocked all of the boys Austin’s age and made the older boy laugh.

“Oh, well if you know so much about sex then why do you not want that hot chick for Christmas? Are you gay or something?” The boy continued with his belittling tone of voice.

“Actually, I do not want her because at this age my body does not have a desire for sex, and her being a Christmas present for me would be a waste of time considering the age difference. Obviously she would be a waste of time for you as well because you do not know how to talk to women or you would be talking to her as we speak. The wooing techniques that you just exhibited will more than likely keep you a virgin for another twenty years unless you steal your father’s money and happen to know where to locate prostitutes. Speaking of what you refer to as “gay” and your Christmas reference, I have to teach you the irony in the statement. You seem like the typical American teenage airhead which means as of now you only understand the bible, boobs, beer, and zit cream. However, I am certain that you believe in god and choose to ignore his existence because like most people you would rather be able to do and say what you please. This annoys me because you obviously say stupid things without knowing the history of anything you say. You used Christmas as a general term for when good things happen or you receive gifts, and you used gay as an insulting term. The irony in that type of thinking is the fact that Christmas, the holiday that gay bashing and self-proclaimed Christians like yourself love to celebrate, is actually a pagan holiday. It is derived from the pagan holiday Saturnalia which is a festival that men used as reason to brutally beat their wives, exchange gifts with one another, and have sex with each other. It was outlawed but later reinstated, and Jesus probably hates you for celebrating it.” Austin said in a cold tone.

The older boy was shocked by Austin’s reply, but he was not the only person who heard it. Everyone who was standing in hearing distance had indeed heard Austin’s long winded rant about the history of Christmas. Austin could see the uneasy tension starting to rise among the party guests. His peers and their parents were staring at him as if he were the Antichrist, and nobody knew how to react to what they had overheard. Austin took notice to the awkward silence he had created, and he decided it was time to get away from the party. He quickly moved through the crowd of people and made the journey to his bedroom. He waited an hour before he returned downstairs to find that everyone had decided to leave.

“Well, you certainly know how to clear a room.” Frank said in a playful tone of voice.

Austin forced a smile and tried to study the reactions of the remaining people. The Wilsons were a bit awkward, and Austin could tell they were uncomfortable. Frank, Susan, and Chris were completely normal about everything as far as he could tell.

“I’m sorry I ruined the party.” Austin said to Susan in a sincere voice.

“Oh, its fine. We understand that your knowledge of history does not necessarily mean you are atheist. We know all too well what it is like to believe in god without believing everything in the bible, and whatever you believe is your business.” Susan said in a comforting voice.

“I am not sure what I believe, but I know that all of the books I have read including the bible have been written by people and are more than likely just as fallible as the people who wrote them.” Austin said with ease after hearing Susan’s reply.

The Wilsons were still a bit uneasy about the topic of conversation, but they seemed to want to keep their opinions to themselves. Dr. Wilson was the most uncomfortable person in the room, but he did not let it take away from how he treated Austin.

He walked over, smiled, and said:

“I guess we will have something to talk about tomorrow in our session.”

Austin could tell that Dr. Wilson was looking forward to another “chess game” as he called them.

“I will be sure to take it easy on you.” Austin said looking forward to the religious debate they were scheduling.

Dr. Farmer was walking into the kitchen to offer Susan and Frank some help with the cleaning.

“By the way, I know this talk will be an interesting one that shows off the abundance of knowledge and theories that you two possess, but I still make more money than you both.” He said as he turned the corner to enter the kitchen.

Austin and Dr. Wilson each smiled as they remembered the first night they had a heated discussion. Everyone else in the room looked completely confused by the code like conversation that was previously witnessed, but Austin and Dr. Wilson just stared at each other and prepared for another conversation that would hopefully make them closer friends.

“Now you are just arguing in order to make this a tie!” Austin yelled at Dr. Wilson.

“What do you mean? I am merely saying if there is no god then how did we get here because evolution is just as outlandish as creation. if you truly consider the factors. How can you be sure that the fossils and dinosaur bones discovered were not created and buried just to make money? The discovery of something like that is worth a great deal of money. Museums and other places devoted to historical discovery will pay anything to add to their displays.” Dr. Wilson replied with equal intensity.

Austin and Dr. Wilson had been debating religion for over an hour, but neither of them wanted to succumb to the other’s beliefs. Although Austin had made some extremely clever arguments to support the nonexistence of a deity, Dr. Wilson was surprisingly knowledgeable about the unexplained phenomenon of the world.

“The point I am trying to make is that science has some fact to support scientific belief, but religion only has a book which we both know was written by other humans.” Austin replied with a hint of frustration in his voice.

“The point I am trying to make is that there are unknown happenings that support the existence of something greater than mankind. I have argued with you for over an hour, and I have not used to bible as a source once. If you do not want to believe the bible then you do not have to believe, but you do have to admit that the existence of a deity cannot be completely disproved which justifies people’s right to believe in anything we want to believe.” Dr. Wilson said holding his composure.

“I agree, but you have to admit that people also have a justified right to not believe in a god due to lack of fact, personal experience, and overall logic based assumption.” Austin said growing weary of the argument.

The two of them stared at each other and burst into laughter after a moment.

“I knew this debate would end in a stalemate as soon as we started.” Austin confessed through his laughter.

“I had the same thought, but I wanted to see how well you were prepared to argue for anything you may believe.” Dr. Wilson said in a cheerful voice.

“See, Joel it is not that I am completely atheist, but my mind tells me that atheism is the best belief as of now. I look at the world around me, and I see and read of all of the terrible events that take place which make me doubt. I see what people have become and it makes me find flaws in an otherwise perfectly intelligent design. I also see the natural disasters that take place, and science has explanations for those disasters. Most religious people do not blame god for those disasters, and those who do chalk it up to the lord works in mysterious ways because they do not want to think about how pointless all of it appears to be.” Austin said in a sincere voice.

Dr. Wilson processed what Austin had told him, and he dwelled on it for a moment.

“I am going to be honest with you, Austin. I have come across more people like you than I can count, and I usually tell them it is their choice once they argue with that much emotion. Since you and I are friends, I am going to leave you with this to think about for next time. Despite what you believe about the world, religious people, or even the bible, ask yourself if you want god to be real. True religion is not just about following the guidelines of some book, but it is about love and hope. Do you like the idea of a being who loves you unconditionally, and could you have hope that he exists even when your mind tells you otherwise? If you can think about everything until you reach a conclusion, ask yourself if believing and trusting in this being can make you a better person in anyway, and that my young friend is faith. Hoping and trusting in something special without any visual proof to tell your mind that it is a fact. Austin if you can learn to do that then it could change your entire life, but only if and when you think it needs to be changed.” Dr Wilson said to his young friend in a loving tone.

Austin thought about what Dr. Wilson had told him while he finished his homework. He could see how happy Dr. Wilson was because of his faith, but he did not want to believe that was the main reason. Dr. Wilson had more than religious beliefs to make him happy, and Austin was not as miserable as he was at one time. He did not see how his life needed to be changed, and his life was becoming better every day without the presence of a supreme being. The whole concept of belief was what irritated him more than anything else. Faith was not based on fact or evidence, and he did not see the point in believing for no reason other than it could possibly better him as a person. In his mind and the eyes of everyone that knew him, he was already proving to be an exceptional individual. He began to realize that a strong part of him wanted to believe, but his mind would not allow it. After finishing his homework assignments, he decided that he would not worry about it anymore. There was nothing wrong with his life, and he was doing fine with his own beliefs or lack of belief.

The following day, Austin had almost completely forgotten about the religious debate, and he was enjoying a biography on President O’ Bama. Austin had political views of his own, and he often thought about running for President one day. He knew that he could be the youngest president in the history of the country. These thoughts led his mind to wondering of all the other professions he considered. He was so young and intelligent that the prospects seemed endless. There was nothing he could not do if he focused his mind. The reality of his situation excited him at first, but he soon began to feel guilty. He was born with this incredible gift of knowledge, and other children were mentally disabled. He was the one accepted into Harvard University, and other children could not afford to get into any Ivy League school even those with potential.

Austin had watched a documentary about a gifted teenager who showed extraordinary promise in English and Literature especially Creative Writing, but his grades in the other subjects were average. The boy was called “”one of the most creative minds who ever lived”" by his teachers, but his overall GPA labeled him as normal. The boy wanted to get the best education and become a successful writer, but he was forced to take math, science, and other classes he did not need after a certain point. Austin thought about how unfair it was for the school systems to not give the boy a chance. The gifted teenager could still become a successful writer, but his chances would be significantly increased if everyone else could see his situation from a different point of view. Here was a teenager who not only knew what he wanted to do with his life, but had all of the characteristics of someone who would excel in his chosen profession.

Austin saw the boy as someone who was just a gifted as he was but in a certain area. Did that not make the boy special? Did the boy not deserve the same opportunity that he himself was recently given? In Austin’s opinion, the entire world was only focusing on perfection and money. The best schools only wanted those who could excel in many areas, or those who had families that could easily cover the expenses of a great education. The entire situation made Austin feel guiltier with every thought, but he knew there was not anything he could do about it. There were hundreds of kids who had to deal with similar situations, and all they could do was try to overcome the unfair way of the world.

Austin thought more and more about people with each passing day. He could not help himself, and the thoughts were becoming a part of his daily life. He would hear a news story, read a book about someone, or see a person and wonder about them for long periods of time. This was his greatest obsession without question, and he could not figure out the reason. Perhaps it was his way of making his new found happiness feel like it was deserved, or maybe it was just a heightened sense of empathy due to his unique mind. He decided to talk to Joel about it in his next session, and he hoped that his friend could give him some insight from experience.

“Joel, I was hoping to move away from our previous topics for a while and focus on my newest obsession.” Austin said in a serious voice he hoped would show the importance of the new topic.

Dr. Wilson smiled at his young friend and pretended to cry.

“You called me Joel, I have been trying to get you to do that since our second session.” Dr. Wilson replied.

Austin gave his friend a look to convey the seriousness of what was on his mind.

“Ok, I apologize. What’s on your mind?” Dr. Wilson replied to Austin’s look.

“Well lately, I have been thinking more and more about people. I do not mean in a general sense of trying to understand people better, but I empathize with every unfair situation I hear or read about on a daily basis.” Austin stated in a concerned voice.

“Austin, I have always known you cared about people. It is a part of who you are so you should not be surprised that you care more each day.” Dr Wilson expressed sincerely.

“No, I do not mean I care in a conventional manner, but I am starting to care about random people as much as I care about my family. I care about Mrs. Logan, my Philosophy professor, as much as I care about Susan. I care about Dr. Walker, my Physics instructor, as much as I care about Frank. I even care about Troy, the local conceited Mr. Everything who believes he is a gift to women everywhere, as much as I care about you.” Austin replied showing the complete degree of his concern.

“Oh, I see what you mean. Well, what you are experiencing is not a horrible way to feel by any means, and I wished I had an explanation other than you are just a kind and caring young man.” Dr. Wilson said in a tone that showed his affection for Austin.

“I knew you were going to respond that way, but I am not confused about how decent a person I am. I am confused as to why the people I am supposed to treat in a civil manner are just as important as the people who care for me the most. I am confused as to why I suddenly want the world to be something that I know it will never be, and I am confused about why I reread my papers on wars and cannot stop myself from crying.” Austin said on the brink of tears.

“Austin, calm down, calm down. This is nothing to get yourself upset over.” Dr. Wilson said trying to comfort his young friend.

Austin was moments away from crying uncontrollably.

“Yes it is Joel. I should be upset over the way people are in this world and so should you. People are mistreated, ignored, belittled, and hurt. They kill each other Joel! They kill each other for nothing but power or greed! They do unspeakable acts just to get something they think they need or sometimes for simply what they want. Fathers, mothers, daughters, and sons are being murdered by one another, and it is all for no reason. People blow up buildings and kill innocent people, and the babies... Joel, the babies never grow up to play or feel loved, or learn anything. Why do they do this to each other?” Austin said trying to control himself and wiping tears from his eyes.

Dr. Wilson could see the pain on Austin’s face, and he fully understood why the boy was so concerned. The man had never seen anyone care this much about the entire world. He did not even care enough to make it as personal as Austin had done. Dr Wilson knew that if he suddenly woke up and felt as strongly about people as Austin did, then he too would be worried about what it all meant.

“I wish I knew Austin. I wish I knew.” Dr. Wilson said hugging his troubled young friend.

Austin fell to the ground as his scar started to throb in agony.

“What’s wrong?” Dr. Wilson said as he watched the boy try to fight through to pain.

The boy genius could not help but groan from the sharp pain coming from his shoulder, but he knew that Dr. Wilson was watching his every move at this point. Austin managed to place his hands on his stomach to fake severe stomach pain as the cause of his agony before forcing himself to dash into the closest bathroom. He closed the door before pulling his shirt off and clenching his shoulder. The pain was worse than ever, and Austin could not make his mind focus on anything else. He could barely control his breathing as the pain began to make his entire left arm go completely numb. He began to shake and grit his teeth as he tried not to scream from the intensity of the pain. He noticed in the mirror that the scar was glowing again. Austin endured the pain for as long as he could endure, but the aching was proving to be too much to handle. As soon as the boy had no other choice but to succumb to the pain and scream for someone to help him, the scar immediately stopped hurting.

Austin was on the floor at this point trying to catch his breath and focus his thoughts. He looked at himself in the mirror and noticed how red his eyes had become over the duration of the pain. He looked at himself and thought about the amount of agony he had just been in moments earlier, but he was completely normal now. The pain came and went without warning, and there was still no explanation. The only fact that he understood about the event was why the pain was so intense. There was no doubt inside of his mind that the pain he had felt was the equivalent of the emotional pain he felt for people. The emotional agony had somehow become physical through the scar on his shoulder, and he suddenly felt better about everything that was bothering him.

It was as if the pain had come out of his body through the scar to relieve his emotional stress.

“Austin are you okay?” Dr. Wilson said in a worried voice.

Before the boy could respond the door flew open and Dr. Wilson entered. The man looked at Austin, and the boy turned to face his friend in hopes of hiding his scar. Dr. Wilson stared at Austin as if he was processing information. Austin could not help but assume that the silence was due to Dr. Wilson noticing the scar. The man did not ask Austin if he was okay again, but he immediately turned and walked away in a rush. Austin assumed he was going across the street to tell Frank and Susan about the incident. Austin struggled to put his shirt on before he rushed after Dr. Wilson in hopes of stopping him. Austin walked out of the door in time to see Dr. Wilson going into the front door of the Anderson’s home. He sprinted across the street, but he could not get there fast enough. The door was ajar, and Austin could hear every word that was being spoken.

“You son of a bitch! I saw the scar Frank, and I remember exactly what it means. He is not some damn fast track to glory or some scientific fact that needs to be proven. He is just a boy!” Dr. Wilson screamed with more anger than Austin had ever heard or seen him express.

“We know that Joel, and we are not using him if that is what you are thinking. We love that boy, and we would never do anything to hurt him.” Frank said in a shocked tone.

Austin thought about running into the house to stop the argument, but they were obviously talking about something that involved him. They knew something about the scar, and he had not told anyone anything that would give them information about the mysterious mark. All of them had been hiding as much from him as he had been hiding from them, and he saw this as an opportunity to get some answers.

“The scar is just a coincidence. What you two obviously must be assuming cannot be true! The only thing special about Austin is his heart and his mind. He is a decent human being. Did you hear what I said? Human being!” Dr. Wilson replied.

“You do not know that for sure Joel, and if there is a chance that he is who we think he is then why not try to find out more?” Susan responded in place of Frank.

“Because he is just a kid. He may be brilliant beyond anything we can imagine, but he is just a boy. If he found out what you were doing then that would crush him! Is that why you wanted to adopt him? To prove some outrageous obsession?” Dr. Wilson said growing angrier with every word.

“Of course not! We love Austin, and if you recall correctly he is the one who chose us. We will tell him what he needs to know when the time is right, but now is not the time to give him any reason to doubt our reasons for wanting him to be a part of our family.” Frank said in a sincere voice.

Dr. Wilson took a moment to calm himself down before responding.

“I am going to say this once. If you two hurt him in anyway. He is coming to live with me and my family, and I will personally see to it that you never see him again. Do you understand me? Dr. Wilson responded in a cold voice.

“This is our family. He is our son. We appreciate how much you care for him, but what makes you think we care any less than you do? We will handle this our way, and we do not have to prove anything to you. You can let yourself out now.” Frank said in a matter of fact tone.

Susan and Frank left him standing in the living room, and they walked angrily up the stairway. Dr. Wilson stared at Frank and Susan for a moment longer before turning to walk out the door. He saw Austin standing there looking confused and frightened.

“If you know something about this scar and what it means then you should tell me.” Austin said looking at Dr. Wilson with fear in his eyes.

“Ask your parents Austin, and if they will not tell you then take a look in Frank’s personal study.”